Sunday Reflections

Especially at this time of year, I suspect that most of us have savored the fruits of a “family recipe,” whether an appetizer, main course, or dessert. Even if the ingredients are not a secret, we know that each and every one of them contributes to the food that we look forward to preparing and eating. St. Paul, in our second reading, provides us with the ingredients that make for a “family recipe” that produces good and generous relationships that we can also savor.

We are coming to the end of this beautiful and joyful season of Advent which stresses how much God wants to be with us in unceasing Love.  Advent is part of the Liturgical Year’s Christmas Cycle.

According to the new Ordo (page 13), the four weeks of Advent are divided into two stages:

All three readings on this third Sunday of Advent offer us comforting words.  In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah says, “Have courage, do not be afraid” In the second reading, the letter of James points out: “Be patient!  Do not lose heart!”  In the gospel, we have the lovely words of Jesus spoken to his cousin John, “Happy the person who does not lose faith in me.”  These words shared by prophets as Isaiah and Jesus and the apostle James were comforting words to those who heard them.

The charism of the Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the charism of HOPE. What an incredible gift to the Church and the world in a time when many can be so easily discouraged and led to despair of their fellow human beings.

This season of grace, Advent, calls us to “stay awake”.  This is not like the difficulty to stay awake when we are over tired, and ‘nod off’, perhaps in front of the television or during a meeting or class.  Jesus calls us to “stay awake” to His presence, and the work of grace in, through, and around us.  Our ‘sleep’ dulls our awareness of these realities, and we miss out on opportunities to share more deeply in the life of Christ, and to share that life with others.  Advent is a time to prepare ourselves spiritually for the celebration of the birth of the Saviour. 

This Sunday is also known as the last Sunday of our present liturgical year or the 34^th Sunday of Year C. 

In a few weeks, we will be coming to the end of our liturgical year and begin the season of Advent.  During this time, our readings will centre on the theme of the ‘end times” where there will be the final judgement of God on all creation. This thought can provoke fear in each of us, particularly after reading Luke’s gospel of Jesus speaking of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and how there will be wars and insurrections, disaster and persecutions that will first take place. After all, the temple was a sign to the early Christians of the presence of God.

In our gospel today, Jesus responds to the Sadducees—who did not believe in the resurrection from the dead on the last day—that our God is not a God of the dead, but of the living. After all, Jesus states, God revealed Godself to Moses as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, all of whom were long dead in history before Moses ever lived.

Zacchaeus appeared, to the people of Jericho, to be the last and least person with whom Jesus should have visited.  He was despised by his fellow Jews, collecting the (unjust) taxes for the Roman conquerors.  Yet, he was the one Jesus chose to grace by his presence in his home – and it was indeed a ‘grace’.  This brought about the conversion of Zacchaeus, reflected by his returning of the money he took (unlawfully) from the people in Jericho.  Indeed, salvation had come to him!  That same Jesus wants to come to us, and bring about the same ‘grace’ of conversion.&nbs

“Today’s readings offer valuable lessons concerning trust and humility, both of which serve as important criteria for Christians in developing healthy prayer practices and a deeper relationship with God” (Matt Charbonneau, “30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time,” Living With Christ, October 2019).  Today’s first Communion Antiphon focuses on our receiving God’s saving help (which is always present) and joyfully praising God for it.  Note also that the word-concept “righteousness/righteous” occurs in the First Reading, the Psalm Response, the Second Reading, and the Gospel